Diane Freeling

Poltergeist

Played by JoBeth Williams

In 1982’s Poltergeist, Diane Freeling starts out as a relatively typical housewife: she’s married to a successful real estate agent, she’s got three great kids, she lives in a nice house in the suburbs, and she’s not above smoking a little weed with her husband when she thinks the kids are in bed. Admittedly, at the first few signs of paranormal trouble, the whole family stays in the house. (But what are they supposed to do? If they left, there’d be no movie). Once her daughter Carol Ann disappears, taken to The Other Side by restless (and angry) spirits, Diane really shows her mettle. The kids get sent away, but Diane and her husband stay in their now obviously haunted house, unwilling to leave Carol Anne behind. Ultimately, Diane’s maternal instincts lead her to cross over herself to physically drag her daughter back into the world of the living. If your mother tells you she’d go to Hell and back for you, this is the kind of thing she’s talking about.